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The Sage of Quiznos Moves On
Some publications are positively crowing about the turnaround wizard of Quiznos, Greg Brenneman. The sandwich chain announced on August 20 that it will move Brenneman out from the position of CEO to executive chairman of the board. After a year and a half at the helm, he will turn to his new role as chairman of CCMP Capital Advisors, a private-equity arm that has shares in Quiznos. The old managing director of CCMP, Dave Deno will be promoted from president of Quiznos to its CEO and president as of September 30.
As Brenneman is relegated to coaching executives of firms in the CCMP portfolio, here's the management accomplishments being touted in The Economist that coached executives may want to know.
Mr Brenneman quickly made clear to staff that the priority was to reignite profitable growth. Since then, Quiznos has revamped its procurement to cut raw-materials costs, bolstering franchisees’ profits. It has also expanded delivery and catering services, which were offered in only a handful of outlets. This has boosted sales per restaurant, though the privately owned firm refuses to say by how much. In another effort to increase sales, Quiznos stepped up its international expansion: last week it said that it will add at least 500 restaurants abroad over the next two years in countries such as India and Brazil.
Here are a few tactics from the turnaround specialist.
- Each Friday the fast-food chain’s franchise-holders get a voicemail updating them on the business. Many of these have been left by Mr Brenneman, but occasionally other managers take a turn.
- Mr Brenneman’s turnaround tactics also call for launching new products. For instance . . . Quiznos has launched the Sammie, a $2 sandwich that appeals to people who had been avoiding the chain because of the relatively high cost and calories of its other food.
Rick Schaden, founder and board member of Quiznos, said of the move, "We feel very fortunate to have executives of the caliber of Greg and Dave at the helm of Quiznos. Greg has done a great job at Quiznos. From the beginning, his goal was to put in place and execute a focused growth strategy and world-class management team so that he could transition to a role that fits his longer term desires."
Breakfast Menu at Quiznos?
How come they don't ship the franchisees a couple cases of overpriced, frozen breakfast burritos and make them open at 6:30a.m.? That'll bring corporate's numbers up for that IPO shot. I'm surprised they haven't thought of that yet........or have they???
Quiznos Breakfast Offerings
suck. No originality and overpriced, just like the rest of the menu. You'd think the "chef" could come up with SOMETHING to drive sales and PROFITS.
Franchisee's Profit??
I would like them to prove to the franchisees where this profit is coming from. With food costs at an all time high and overall sales dropping (in my demographic area)the franchisee's profitability is at an all time low.
If Quiznos in fact cut raw material costs, the benefit of those cuts never made it to the end user franchisees.
From my viewpoint, your spin Greg seems more like outright lies.
Quiznos' Hours Extended Again
My shop is 2 doors down from a Quiznos in an indoor/outdoor "arcade" that's only open Monday through Friday. All the businesses nearby are basically open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., except one that opens early to serve breakfast also. We all close at 2:30 because ours is a lunchtime only business and there is basically no one in the area after 2 p.m. After 3 p.m., it's a ghost town. We all catch the few stragglers between 2 and 2:30 and that's it.
I noticed a couple of weeks ago, that Quiznos changed their posted hours to 3:30 p.m. as has been mentioned on BMM. Today, one of the workers at Quiznos came by with a camera and asked if she could take a photo of our hours posted on our window. When queried, she said that the owner wants to send photos of everyone's hours to Quiznos corporate, because they have just been informed to stay open until 5 p.m. and the owner wants to contest that directive.
That is pure lunacy, because the only thing going on will be their overhead. They'd be lucky to pull in an extra 3 customers after 3 p.m..
The Q Scam
Brenneman was hired for two reasons: 1. To buy more time for the Schadens to back away slowly with all of the cash they ripped off.
2. To set up Q for an IPO in which they get to do it again but this time to the public.
Food Quality On Brennenman's Watch Is Way Down
The ingredients for our new meatballs include pork and pressure removed chicken meat. I thought good ground beef was used to make meatballs. Oh, that's right. We're not a premium sub shop anymore. Of course while Q squeezes every bit of profit out of these nasty "meatballs" for itself the franchisee's food cost for a sandwich is still 35+%.
That's what the "great sage" at Quiznos has done; cut quality out, mandated artificially low prices and sucked every nickle he can from franchisees. You can call Brennenman smart - I don't.
To paraprhase the late, great Jerry Reed: Q got the goldmine and the franchisees got the shaft.
Quiznos Quality - UMMMMM, Pasty?
Questions - What Does Pressure Removed Chicken Meat Mean For Quiznos Customers? What are they really forcing franchisees to serve?
Answer - Mechanically separated meat (MSM), also known as mechanically recovered/reclaimed meat (MRM), is a paste-like meat product produced by forcing beef, pork or chicken bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue.
Yeah that Brennenman is a real sage. Forcing franchisees to serve this crap is really going to grow the system. If Quiznos serves this in the Middle East they may start a Jihad.
Yeah, Q got the goldmine and Q's franchisees & customers got the shaft.
Q's Dino Fingers Slime Ball Culprit
Now we know who is responsible for the pasty round slime balls that Quiznos passes off as meatballs. David Dino says that Chef Zach is the guy. Dino proves himself pretty slick by blaming the "chef" so Zach will take the fall if customers get sick. As for the "Chef" I'd like to see him take some time off his second job as the guy who comes up with "chef inspired" dog food recipes that Dino enjoys and come up with a recipe that PEOPLE want to eat.
I'd post Chef Muldoon's meatball recipe, but...
it's much too good to be sold in a system that just rips everyone off.
Imagine meatballs simmering in a red gravy that Tony Soprano would just die for. Imagine yourself walking through my kitchens and dipping a piece of crusty breat into that sauce and tasting it, becoming weak in the knees from the luscious, garlic and herb grace notes. Imagine the agony of having to wait a while until everyone is ready to come to the table and the pasta can be put into the boiling salted water for a few minutes, and then into the butter and olive oil to be tossed with fromaggio de parma grattugiato, and blessed with a bit of that Sunday gravy, garnished with a few of those meatballs and placed before you - your wine glass being generously served, and the aroma wafting through your senses.
It hurts just to think of all the angry, mean spirited people who will never know the exquisite succulence of the taste of my meatballs. More's the pity.
--
Richard Solomon, FranchiseRemedies.com, has over 45 years experience with franchise litigation and crisis management. He is a graduate of The Citadel and The University of Michigan Law School
At This Point Quiznos franchisees
would take a Chef Boyardee inspired recipe.
Speaking of Chef Boyardee...
If ya care to take a dare and chance your life...
Across from the arch in East St. Louis about 6 blocks east and 4 blocks north of the train station there is a eatery that shares a wall with a burnt out building and a empty, broken windowed store front filled with pigeons. On the door is a simple card board sign, that has the name Reggies scribbled on it in black marker at an angle (note there is no apostrophe “s” in the name).
There they have "The Reggie", a Hoagie roll split in the center, wiped with yellow mustard, The Reggie is filled with a ladle of Macaronni and cheese, a ladle of ChefBoyArdee Spaghettios, a ladle of “Reggies homemade chili”, topped with a big spoonful of kidney beans, a handful of Crunchy Cheetos, a handful of Fritos and a dollop of sour cream. When I was there last year, a Reggie was $5.00 you could add a grape, orange soda or a coke for 1.25 a bottle.
Now cleanliness nor personal safety is the first order of the day at Reggies, but it is a local favorite among those living on edge of personal apocalypse.
FuwaFuwaUsagi
Q's New "Chef" Inspired Recipe
I wouldn't be suprised if "Chef" Zach hasn't taken a trip to Reggie's to double check the ingredients. Considering the last "chef inspired" recipes was the slime ball sandwich this certainly would seem to be a step up.
Fuwa
You are braver than most people. But if you take Fuwa's advice (and I'm sure that the food is excellent), just make sure that you miss the East St. Louis potholes (better known as, people stealing manhole covers to sell them as scrap metal).
JD writes: You are braver
JD writes:
You are braver than most people.
My reply:
Actually, I am strangely comfortable around those areas. My old man use to fight in a bareknuckle circuit down there in the 30s...Now and then I go into those places, and sort of remember where I came from and remember the many sacrifices my parents made so I could have a leg up in life.
And JD is right, don't go looking for Reggies, it is a good place to get yourself killed. I just sort of naturally get along in those environments, but in general it ain't a healthy place to be.
FuwaFuwaUsagi
Re: Quiznos Quality - UMMMMM, Pasty?
I thought that that stuff was used to make pet food?
Brennenman A Second Rate Bum
Greg Brennenman is a second rate CEO, a conman, who has built a reputation as a turn-around artist despite getting booted out of BK and booted upstairs at Q. He kisses the a$$ of the franchise/business rags like the Economist and Fox Business "News" to get his Quiznos press releases reprinted verbatim. Brennenman's successor, David Dino, is also a Schaden lap dog so if you're a Q franchisee you're certain to get screwed but you won't be getting kissed.
Parsley, Sage, Brenneman, and Thyme
A "Q" Franchisee's Ode to Sage Brenneman
(sing to the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel's "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme")
Are you going to the bankruptcy sale?
Parsley, sage, Brenneman, and thyme
Remember me the one who lost all
I was once a successful person
Tell him to make me a proper Sammie
Parsley, sage, Brenneman, and thyme
Without the cheese nor pickled-pepper
Then his word be a true love of mine
Tell him to find me a buyer or two
Parsley, sage, Brenneman, and thyme
Between the lies and sea of tears
Then his word be a true love of mine
Tell him he’ll reap what he has sown
Parsley, sage, Brenneman, and thyme
Remember me as a rounding error
You, kind sir, have ruined my life
Are you going to the bankruptcy sale?
Parsley, sage, Brenneman, and thyme
Remember me the one who lost all
I was once a successful person
Brenneman no turnaround specialist
This article is so lame. As you can see, it is filled with claims of success but won't disclose any of those successes. How about this for a turnaround:
1. Food costs are higher now.
2. Average ticket sale is lower.
3. Profitability of restaurants is lower.
4. Store closings are at an all time high.
5. Operations are more complicated.
6. Menu development is absent.
7. Delivery program will ultimately prove to be the straw that will break the already broken back of the camel. This camel is on life support now.
When you hear the praises of someone who communicates on a weekly voice mail as having the qualities to turn things around, you must question the intelligence of the person who wrote this article.
Y'all just don't get it
Y'all are looking at Brenneman from a franchisee perspective and not from a venture capital perspective.
What you don't know is what the cash flow at Q is now and how the overall brand is being valued in the resale marketplace. These are very smart people with a plan. In a VC's eyes, Brenneman is a huge success and, in VC speak, that means he has generated huge value on their investment. So, he IS a success - just not from YOUR vantage point.
Ruined lives, ethics vacuums, abusing the legal system, etc. are trivial means to an end for these folks.
Consider the recent announcements of international expansion and other puff PR. Just as many of you were suckered into investing in a unit, there are suckers all over the planet (especially the Middle East and Asia) who will likely believe the hype and give Brenneman and the team a mega-million dollar payday in their "four to five year" flip window. It is simple math people, except these guys have rounding errors in the millions.
Y'all are naive. Y'all need to realize that individual franchisees are like single stocks in a large mutual fund. Your individual success or failure is just a blip on the radar. All that matters is the bottom line resale value and flipping the brand to a big pay day. Just ask FedEx about Kinko's.
Too bad these potential marks don't read BlueMauMau
Re: Y'all just don't get it
You are right, he is a success in that regard. According to the latest UFOC, Quiznos increased their net income by 101% in 2007 compared to 2006. At the same time 2007 was the worst year for franchisees with a staggering 442 store closures and 612 transfers. Franchisees continue to complain about shrinking profits and sales are down compared to the previous year. 2008 looks like it will be a record year for store closures and transfers.
No you don't get it
Quiznos tried to sell this company. Guess what? There was no takers to buy this company outright. If Quiznos is playing their cards right, explain to me how they are successful? There are no buyers moron.
Civility
Please keep it civil, gentlemen. There's no reason to be mean. The original writer made a reasonable point that distressed franchises may not be a critical issue for a potential private equity investor of the chain.
Brennenman The Antonym of Sage
–noun 1. a profoundly wise person; a person famed for wisdom.
—Antonyms 1. fool.
Brennenmen is without a doubt the "Worst Person in the World", a one man wrecking crew who single handedly bankrupted one thousand franchisees all across the fruited plains during his reign of terror and leaves thousands more on the brink. I'm not sure how this motley fool can live with himself. As for Dino, a guy who learned on the knee of the "master", franchisees can only expect more of the same.
Worst Person in the World?
I am not sure I would give Brenneman all the credit, the business model was a scam before he came along. His job was simply to put the best face on it so it could be peddling to investors and create a capital event for the founders. Similar to what Amos did for DeSio at MBE with USOP as the
smokescreen.
Brenneman is not much different than the used car lot jockey who rubs the car down with transmission fluid to make it shine long enough to sell it, never mind that the shine doesn't last when the dust collects on it.
Brennenman Is No Christian
I was one of the franchisees who had a dialogue with Brennenman when he was brought in 18 months ago to run Quiznos and I took his unsolicited pronouncements of being a Christian very seriously. A Christian is taught to conduct our business in a fair and ethical way. Greg used his "Christian values" to sell both himself and his plans to turnaround Quiznos to trusting franchisees. Brennenman lied. He's not ethical and he's not a Christian. He sold his soul for the money. He will answer to God for his actions.
But he's a good capitalist
Among the courts of this world though, the man is a saint.
Anyone who follows the captains of capitalism because they are convinced they are Christ-like (good Christians or Christian values) had better re-read the New Testament. Christ would have made a very poor capitalist.
Shame on you for getting the two confused. Once the man waves his magic wand and makes you all a lot of money, you'll think he's a saint too.
No, Brennenman Is Just A Liar
In this case there's no confusion. Greg Brennenman sold HIMSELF as a Christian as a way to gain the trust of franchisees. No one asked him to identify himself that way and after the Schadens there was no anticipation that a man of moral character would be hired. The fact that Brennenman would use the ruse of being a Christian to cheat franchisees and put one thousand of them out of business makes him the worst kind of man...and someone who will answer to God for it.
How to impress readers
I miss the days in which Schaden was in charge rather than Brenneman. There was coincidentally more interesting news back then. (Speaking of which, remember that marketing guy that was busted? Or the TSFA leaders that Quiznos was so heavy-handed in terminating?)
Here are three rules I keep in mind when I call someone a fool.
Such comments really impress readers.
Antonym of Sage
Actually, the antonym of sage is tree.
RE: Antonym of Sage
sage-noun: 1.a profound philosopher, distinguished for wisdom and sound judgment.
Re: The Sage of Quiznos Moves On
Surely you didn't expect Quizlose to have anything other than praise for Greg. He discovered early on that the Q was in a lot more trouble then he bargained for. I fortunately am out of Q and I continue to be amazed at how anyone can praise what he didn't accomplish. Watch for many more closures in the short term. Yes, Deno will blame it on the early growth. Fact of the matter is that the model dooesn't work at 450k!
One day the 3rd & 4th generation owners will be profitable. What about all the previous owners that lost everything? Oh, well...... lousy answer.......
Gone, happy, and never looking back!
Brennenman's Grade Is F
History won't treat Greg Brennenman kindly concerning his tenure as Quiznos CEO. His legacy is one of closed stores, high costs, and heavy handed dealings with franchisees. He has shown himself without the strength to make the meaningful changes that he promised franchisees, the unwillingess to change the business model that has franchisees teetering on the edge of disaster and the implementation of a strategy that has forever changed Quiznos from a premium sandwich shop to a Subway wannabe. The result is Q franchisees competing against stores with costs that are 15% - 20% less.
Brennenman Fails As Quiznos CEO
(P)rick is wrong, Brennenman is the worst thing that could've happened at Quiznos. Skyhigh food prices, open restaurants down 10% since the start of 2008, no real change in Q's distribution system that gouges franchisees and pockets vendor kickbacks. Brennenman was just Schaden-light, a guy who was sold as independant but was really working with and for Tricky Dick and (P)rick Schaden to strengthen corporate earnings no matter what the cost to franchisee - all to facilitate an IPO deal that would allow all of these modern day pirates to cash out with millions of dollars. In that he failed which is probably why he's out. As for Dino, he's just more of the same which is bad news for franchisees.